Week 8 Blog

For this weeks blog post I decided to explore the picture-perfect coastline of Malibu. I wanted to check out this part of Los Angeles because I heard it was one of most desirable locations to live in and it’s property value reflected this rumor.

            When I first started driving northbound on the PCH through Malibu I instantly recognized all the view’s considering how many Hollywood films and commercials have been shot around the area. Next, I pulled into the shopping mall on the corner of Cross Creek and PCH. Once I entered the mall I felt a completely different vibe than driving along the coast. Surrounded by expensive clothing boutique’s, gaudy cars, and overpriced meals I felt like I was back in Brentwood or Beverly Hills. But I knew there was more to Malibu than this aspect…  so I continued to explore. I ended up taking a hike up the backside of Coral Canyon to engulf myself in the aesthetic pleasures Malibu has to offer. It was truly something special, rolling hills speckled with mansions and beautiful ocean views; one could almost forget they are living in a city… until they looked southeast. Malibu is fortunate to be secluded by the Santa Monica mountains, a very geographically and special mountain range.

            When reflecting on what I saw in Malibu I could not help but think about what we recently read and talked about in class; the environmental inequalities and overall problems that seem to be facilitated within cities.  To begin with I would like to address the tragic relation Malibu developer’s have with the land they are given. For much property in Malibu is in jeopardy of being destroyed due to landslides and the ocean. Often times the homes are designed to be on top of a mountain and are built on a semi-stable foundation. This means that the house is prone to and almost guaranteed to be destroyed in the future by natural phenomena. Also, all of the beach houses are tightly packed in-between the ocean and the PCH, leaving them to be eaten away during big storms and the sea level … assuming it rises.  It seems that the residents of Malibu took no real consideration of their present actions and how they would affect others in the future. In 100 years the dynamic of Malibu could be completely different due to environmental changes and no one, despite their love for the area, made valiant efforts to change this.

            Another interesting thing I was thinking about was how most people I saw in Malibu were in cars that were not fuel-efficient. Due to the wealth and excess of nature most people are driving sports cars, which value speed over gas efficiency, and SUV’s so they can hall around their surfboards or bikes. It seems ironic that this land is valued so high in economic terms, but is treated very poorly in terms of the environment. After pondering why this is happening, I talked to some local’s that I know that cleared things up a little. They stated how Malibu has residents that have lived there for generations, before it was really incorporated with Los Angeles, and that there are also new residents. These newbie’s seem to have recently gained wealth and decided to move to Malibu just because they can, disregarding the meaning behind the natural beauty. I believe this ability for new residents to come and change the general culture of an area is common in cities, and inherent to the dynamic nature. I am interested to see which part of the community will prevail in the future, eventually dictating the spatial manipulation of the geographically special location.

            I left this trip with mixed feelings, curious about how people assess their actions and how places can change so much over time.

Week 7: Bus to Beverly

            For my most recent adventure, I decided to take the MTA bus from UCLA  to Beverly Hills to have dinner on the edge of Korea Town. I was very curious to see who exactly used public transportation in this part of Los Angeles, considering most people who live in this area can afford to drive their own car. When I first stepped on the bus the following quote from Fredrich Engel’s Great Towns seemed to resonate with me “poverty often dwells in hidden alleys close to the palaces of the rich; but in general, a separate territory has been assigned to it, where, removed from the sight of the happier classes, it may struggle along as it can.”  In this case it seems that the separate territory creating inequality is the difference in transportation. There seemed to be a racial and economic difference’s when I looked inside the bus at the individuals compared to the individuals driving their car’s next to the bus. Also, I gained an interesting perspective because I was on the bus at the end of the workday, so all of the residents on the Westside were coming home while all the worker’s maintaining this nice area were leaving on busses. I have traveled from Westwood to Beverly Hills a million times though never on the bus, this new experience shed light on the way individuals share space in a city. It almost was upsetting, seeing the stark contrast in lifestyles, so close together yet so different.

            When I arrived to Beverly Hills I walked the rest of the way to Genwa, on Wilshire, which was the restaurant I wanted to eat at.  After stepping off of the bus, I was entering a completely different world. It seemed that the bus suspended the reality of the westside of Los Angeles, leaving the contrasting lifestyle’s ignorant to each other. It was a strange feeling because I went from sitting next to a bunch of hard working people leaving the Westside on the bus to sitting next to a bunch of hard working people arriving to the Westside.  Despite their similar commitment to work, I still wonder why their lives are so different.  For dinner I was served some of the highest quality Korean BBQ that I had ever had, all the while wondering if the workers who made this food actually lived near by.

            I found this adventure to be more interesting than pervious ones because I was able to see how individuals in the city are so close yet so separated from each other. The bus ride really made me evaluate and consider every individual that made up the restaurant I ate at, I was really trying to put myself in the shoes of the waiter and the obnoxious man at the bar. Ultimately ending the night with many questions.  Is this the way the city should be organized? Do individuals who make up a city consider the greatest good for the greatest number? Do stranger’ in the city care about each other or is everyone jaded from the crowds ? I hope these are questions I will be able to answer by the end of my blog.

Week 6 Blog Post

For these weeks post I am responding to the following blog for Laiza-http://uclageography.blogspot.com/2012/10/week-4-not-so-decentralized-la.html#!/2012/10/week-4-not-so-decentralized-la.html

Hey, Laiza my name is Patrick and I am a fellow student in Geography 151. To begin with I really enjoyed your post and also am impressed as to how busy you were as a freshman and sophomore at U.C.L.A.

            In the begging of your post you thoroughly explain your experience on the redline bus. I found it interesting how you were able to take advantage of what the city has to offer, for instance a top-level university and vast selection of jobs to choose from, but also felt the disadvantages of public transportation in a city. Los Angeles is well recognized for their failed public transportation and the fact that it takes a total of 8 hours to travel 30 miles in a day is outrageous. You also touch on how this transportation network connects segregated communities, which is an aspect talked about in the Chicago School model. While I acknowledge this similarity in Los Angeles’s urban planning, I still do not agree that L.A demonstrates that stereotypical “Concentric Zone Model” seen in the Chicago School model. I feel that maybe 100 years ago when the city was less crowded, dense, and developed that it resembled this, but now it seems to exemplify more of a ‘grid’ like layout that is commonly associated with metropolitan cities like Los Angeles.

            Unlike the previous commentator on you blog, I do agree that to an extent the center of Los Angeles has/does organize the periphery. The core of downtown L.A has caused much succession and relocation of business and residential area’s, but in a fragmented manner not concentric.

            Overall I really enjoyed the visual aspects and your opinion on the greater Los Angeles area.  

P.S. If anyone wants to read about some interesting facts and myths about public transportation in cities, and in specific L.A., take a look at this pretty cool website - http://www.freakonomics.com/2009/03/03/los-angeles-transportation-facts-and-fiction-transit/

Response to Marina Magana: Blog Post Week 5

 I was not able to post my comment directly to Marina's blog post, but the here is the link to her  post http://mmaganageog151.blogspot.com/2012/10/week-4-koreatown.html?showComment=1351312844692#c3759727834094375993 and the following is my response.

-Hey Marina, my name is Patrick and I am a fellow student in Geography 151. As I read through your blog I really enjoyed the personal voice you used and photo’s you took to construct your post. I myself have driven that stretch of Wilshire to Korea town and recognized much of what you talked about.

            A thing I found to be interesting about the location you visited was the drastic change in architecture and consumer choices. In a matter of minutes you were driving through multi-million dollar skyscrapers filled with high-end businesses and modern apartments. Next, you passed through the residential areas in Beverly Hill’s with quiet streetlights sidewalks. And finally, passing through a denser with liquor stores, apartments, and narrow roads until you reached Korea town. Your ability to see so many different zones in such a small amount of time exemplifies the fragmented city layout that Los Angeles has; as well as other post-metropolis cities. Also, while reading your post, a concept we learned in class recently popped up. When looking at each different part of Wilshire there seems to be much architectural and economic difference and it seems to play a role in the social differences seen in cities. The shiny and glamorous skyscrapers seem to subtly highlight the area and imply wealth, which will draw wealthy people to this area. Then the lightened up sidewalks, spacious, and quite vibes sets the tone for families only in Beverly Hills. Then down the road there are cheaper and smaller liquor stores, which were seen nowhere else but around these lower-income or apartment based living areas. There seems to be very clear zoning, you were just driving and it was apparent as to what areas you were passing by. It seems that physically the city can separate and clearly differentiate the individuals that make it up.

            Similar to what I pointed out earlier, you commented on how your experience related to the article  “The Truly Disadvantaged.” Your drive to Korea town pointed out the drastic economic differences in Los Angeles neighborhoods and how Korea town can be classified as a modern day ghetto. This part of Los Angeles geographical and physically lacks resources limiting the residents, adding to how difference is facilitated within cities and by cities. 

            Overall I really enjoyed your post , it touched on some important issues in Los Angeles and gave me a more thorough understanding of the culture of Korea town.